Donald Trump, at 79, just threw his own press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, under the political bus—making a mockery of her elaborate attempts to smooth over whispers about his health.
Ever since Trump reclaimed the Oval Office this past January, rumors have swirled about those eye-catching bruises on his hands and whether his mind is as sharp as ever, especially after a much-discussed, hush-hush scan in the fall.
Leavitt, only 28, has become Trump’s go-to for putting a positive spin on his battered hands, insisting again and again that all the weird coloring is thanks to Trump’s tireless handshaking with the American public—a record-breaking number, she claims, unmatched in presidential history. She’s repeatedly pointed to his daily aspirin regimen as an alternative culprit, but the handshake defense is her signature line—trotted out most recently when she butted heads with political reporter Farrah Tomazin just weeks ago. ‘The man’s hands are in constant action—the Oval Office is grander than Grand Central!’ she said, painting a picture of presidential hands rarely at rest.
But new photos—snapped as Trump greeted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in February 2025—showed those suspect bruises peeking from beneath layers of makeup and bandages. The plot thickened when the discoloration started creeping across his left hand, which rarely gets the handshake treatment. Finally, Trump himself broke the silence in a candid sit-down with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, turning the spotlight back on his own habits and further unraveling Leavitt’s narrative.
Trump set the record straight: the bruises come from years of taking 325 milligrams of aspirin every day—a dose four times bigger than the typical ‘baby aspirin’ the Mayo Clinic recommends. Despite his doctors’ protests, Trump claimed he’s stuck with this routine for decades and isn’t about to change his ‘lucky’ streak now. He dismissed handshaking as the main cause, blaming his thinning skin and occasional scrapes, like the time Attorney General Pam Bondi clipped him with her ring during a high five. ‘Her ring left a tiny cut,’ he admitted, referencing a bandaged hand that made headlines at a December 2025 casino event.
Trump also admitted to dabbing makeup over his bruises—’it takes ten seconds,’ he joked—whenever he gets whacked by someone or just feels his skin’s fragility acting up. And as for the famous October scan? Trump promised more revelations, thoroughly undermining the story his team had worked so hard to sell. Looks like the president is his own spin doctor— and his press secretary is left scrambling in the aftermath.
